Search Results for: Michael Jackson

Pop star Michael Jackson plans to direct his first movie. The singer wants to make an adaptation of Jennings Michael Burch’s book “They Cage the Animals at Night,” The Hollywood Reporter reported Wednesday. Jackson is expected to co-direct with Bryan Michael Stoller, who directed episodes of the 1980s horror series “Tales From the Darkside.” The book chronicles the true tale of the author’s life in an orphanage and his struggles to adapt to life in various foster homes. Jackson liked Stoller’s 1999 film “Undercover Angel” and contacted him about working together. “The boy in the book had a tough time,… Read more »

The Democratic Party brought its Every Vote Counts voter registration efforts to the forefront Wednesday night in New York. Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker, Tony Bennett and other celebrities joined the likes of former President Bill Clinton and members of the Democratic National Committee at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre for a concert fundraiser. Tucker co-hosted the event with actress Cicely Tyson. Ruben Blades, k.d. lang and Tony Bennett performed, as did Jackson. M.J. sang a medley of songs that included “Black or White” and “Smooth Criminal,” and was joined by Jane’s Addiction guitarist and former Red Hot Chili Pepper Dave Navarro for… Read more »

Michael Jackson has selected Brett Ratner to take over directing duties from David Meyers on the singer’s “Unbreakable” music video. Jackson reportedly made the move after disagreeing with Meyers on the vision for the short film. The video shoot is scheduled to begin in late April. The song features Brandy singing background vocals as well as a rap from the late Notorious B.I.G. “Unbreakable” will be the fourth track released from Jackson’s Invincible album. Jackson pal Chris Tucker, who appeared in the singer’s “You Rock My World” video, will star in the new clip. “Unbreakable” will be a reunion of… Read more »

Michael Jackson could be forced to give up his share of the Beatles’ song catalog to Sony Music Publishing. Jackson famously bought the catalog for $47.5 million in 1985, and then sold half of it to Sony in 1991 for a reported $100 million. In the last several years, stories have circulated that Jackson is having money troubles. In the mid-’90s, the “King Of Pop” asked Sony to guarantee a $200 million loan from lenders, using his 50-percent ownership in the Beatles catalog as collateral, notes foxnews.com. It has been reported that Sony Music Publishing’s president Richard Rowe is in… Read more »

Michael Jackson’s Neverland Entertainment has invested $15 million-$20 million in Mark Damon’s production and distribution company MDP Worldwide, making Jackson and his new producing partner Raju Patel major shareholders in the company. As part of the deal, MDP will operate a new division, Neverland Pictures, headed by Jackson and Patel along with key executive Lawrence Mortoff. The company plans to produce a range of projects with a focus on family films and reimaginations of classics, some of which might be directed by and/or star Jackson. The venture was announced Sunday night during a private dinner reception at Damon’s hillside Benedict… Read more »

After all the chest-beating and back-and-forth over whether he would sing for the Grammys or the rival American Music Awards, pop star Michael Jackson will end up having performed on neither. A spokesman for the Grammy-sponsoring National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences said the “Gloved One” will not be performing on Wednesday night’s live CBS telecast of the music industry’s highest honors. Asked whether Jackson declined an offer to appear or whether he was never invited to begin with, the spokesman, Ron Roecker, said he did not know. Jackson’s manager referred queries to his label, Epic Records, but his… Read more »

Michael Jackson, Barry Manilow, Sting, Randy Newman, and Ashford & Simpson have been named as the next inductees to the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. The songwriters-all of whom are also performing artists in their own right-will be honored during the 33rd annual Songwriters Hall Of Fame induction ceremony and dinner in June. Songwriter Hal David, the Hall’s chairman and CEO, said during the announcement on Monday (February 11), “The Songwriters Hall Of Fame Awards & Dinner is so important because it’s a time when some of the premier songwriters in the world come together to honor their own. That kind… Read more »

Michael Jackson is being hit with a $20 million lawsuit for allegedly shopping around for a new promoter for an upcoming world tour. Marcel Avram, of German promotion company Mama Concerts and Rau, claims he was promised the job of promoting Jackson’s next world tour after fulfilling his side of a written contract, drafted in 1998, that required him to pay doctors in Germany “several thousand dollars” on Jackson’s behalf, according to Avram’s attorney Skip Miller. When Avram heard that Jackson was making arrangements with another promoter for an as-yet-unannounced tour, he filed his complaint for anticipatory breach of contract,… Read more »

Despite ongoing litigation, Michael Jackson will be on the American Music Awards after all – just not as a performer. Jackson, who had agreed to sing at the AMAs, pulled out of the awards show last month, angering TV personality/producer Dick Clark enough to file a $10 million lawsuit against Michael Greene, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, alleging that Greene’s policy of refusing to book artists who perform at the AMAs for the Recording Academy’s Grammy Awards forced Jackson to back out of his agreement with Clark. While Jackson will now appear on the AMAs to accept his… Read more »

Though Michael Jackson won’t perform at the American Music Awards in early January after all, he’ll still be performing on television that same night – on another network. CBS plans to re-broadcast the singer’s concert special, “Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration,” with previously unseen footage of Britney Spears and Lil’ Romeo, to air against the AMAs on ABC January 9th. Jackson’s two-hour concert special, which originally aired November 13th, gave CBS some of its highest ratings this year – it was the network’s biggest Tuesday night, excluding sports programming, since 1994. According to Nielsen Media Research estimates, an estimated 45… Read more »